


The Pool

by a_crested_eagle



Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, I'm Bad At Titles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slice of Life, The Void, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21790879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_crested_eagle/pseuds/a_crested_eagle
Summary: ABANDONEDThe Void has covered most of the planet, cramming the surviving people in small "islands".Nami is a lifeguard at a pool in one of the remaining cities.
Relationships: Nami (League of Legends) & Neeko, Nami (League of Legends) & Nidalee, Nami (League of Legends) & Sona Buvelle
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	1. Diary Entries

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback (positive & negative) is welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably switch to a more common narrative form in the next chapters.

November 12th, XX19

_Dear diary, tonight was the first day of me going to the pool. I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Swimming isn’t really my thing. Not gonna lie, I was a bit scared getting in. I hadn’t been in a pool since second grade. I think. But I’m sooo tired of going to the gym. (-.-)_  
_Anyway. The pool was mostly empty. I must have frozen for a bit because the lifeguard came close. She was young, barely an adult. Despite her young looks, she was confident and very reassuring. She lost her composure for a second when I signed. She looked at the other people in the pool for a second, then she bolted to the counter at the front. She came back with a pen and paper constantly apologizing. I waved it off. She’s not required to know sign language. When I wrote her why I was hesitant she smiled and pointed to the lifebuoys at the poolside. She said she’d grab one and walk beside me as I did my laps. I tried to refuse but she refused my refusal. So I did my laps with the lifeguard walking beside me. I think her presence helped. After I finished my laps, I thanked her and turned to leave, but she stopped me at the exit. Turns out she was a fan. And since she recognised me without my masks, she must been following me for a while. I signed her an autograph, her name is Nami. Sweet girl._

  
_And kinda cute._

* * *

November 12th, XX19

_I MET SONA AT THE POOL TODAY!!! WHAT!?_

_She was scared cause she hadn’t swim in years so I walked by her as she did her laps._  
_She’s a mute, as I expected. I need to learn sign language. Other people may come to the pool that can’t speak. Or can’t hear! I have to learn sign language for sure._

_ALSO I GOT HER AUTOGRAPH!!!_

_She has a very elegant signature. I hope I didn’t scare her off by recognizing her without the masks. Shoot. I have to tell her that I’ll keep it a secret. I bet she wouldn’t like it if hordes of fans came to the pool._

_..._

_I GOT DJ SONA’S AUTOGRAPH!!!_

* * *

November 13th, XX19

_Dear diary. Today I spent most of the day experimenting in my studio. The new album is still so far in the future... I think I have a theme in mind but I need to play with it more. I also worked on the POP/STARS remix. Almost done, only the rapping part needs a bit more work._  
_I heard Akali released another song a few days ago. I should check it out tomorrow._  
_I went to the pool again. Nami ran to me when she saw me. She promised that she keep my identity a secret. That was nice of her. Although she is the only one that recognised me without a mask. She walked beside me as I did the laps again. When I got out of the showers, I saw her signing as she waited at the reception. She was practising the “goodbye” for a bit, then turned to the ABCs. She put her hands down when she noticed me._  
_I signed goodbye, instead of just waving. She didn’t get it immediately, but she beamed when she realized what the motion meant. She also signed goodbye._  
_She is very sweet indeed._

* * *

November 13th, XX19

_I opened the pool today. I finally managed to swim with my tail out. Gods, I don’t remember when was the last time I got to do that. I think last time was back in the forest. I think it’s been 4 years now? Damn, no wonder it felt so good. I should ask the boss to let me open more._  
_I started learning sign language. “Hello” and “goodbye” are easy but some of the alphabet’s letters are a pain._  
_Sona came by again. I promised to not tell anyone that she comes to our pool. She smiled. She saw me practising my ABCs as she was leaving. She signed goodbye when she left and I did too! And I didn’t mess it up!_  
_Nida called. She made it to the forest just fine. But as we expected, Tomato got into trouble by herself. She seems to have scared the woodworkers they’re fighting a bit too much. Nida says they now come with armed escorts. She also says not to worry but I can’t help it. I hope they’ll be okay._

* * *

November 14th, XX19

_Did a live show. I’m exhausted. Need sleep._

* * *

November 14th, XX19

_Dear diary. The boss was surprised by my suggestion but he agreed. So now I open and close the pool every day. Well, not every day. He insisted I take at least a day off. So, instead of 6 days, I would go only for 5. I still get more time in the water, so it’s a win for me. I think it would be safer if I swim with my legs when I open. I can’t have anyone figuring out that a Vastaya is in town._  
_Sona didn’t come today. I think she has a show. Anyway, it was only me and my thought in the pool and I remembered when the Void erupted. I don’t think I’ve actually written about it yet. No, I haven’t. Okay, here it goes._

_It happened three days after I left my tribe. I had reached the top of a small hill that was free of trees and was looking for a lake or a cave to get in for the night. Then I heard a... deep, guttural sound, like from an injured beast. I felt its vibration through the ground and I lost control of the water puddle I was using to move. Behind me, where my family and tribe were, darkness was creeping in the horizon. Then it exploded. Black with hues of purple, it rose to the sky like a tsunami. Loud shrieking pierced my ears and I curled into a ball, covering myself with my tail._  
_When I lifted my head, the void was foaming only a few meters away from my tail. I called water to me with my staff but I felt no response. Through the darkness, twisted figures began taking shape. One was ahead. A humanoid figure with a fishing spear for its left arm. Dark purple steam rose from it as it stepped out of the Void._  
_The last things I remember from there are the figure suddenly getting cut in half then a strike on my belly knocking me out. Nidalee found me in a small pond in her forest. From the maps I’ve seen, that was 300 km away from where my family lived._

_It’s been 11 years. I still miss them sometimes._


	2. Phonecall With A Shapeshifting Lizard Girl

The morning sun was slowly rising next to mount Targon, its weak rays hitting Nami’s apartment long before they would reach the streets. The Vastayan was sunk in her bath, her tail barely fitting in. She pulled herself up, squeezing her tail fin back in the water. Nami sighed and grabbed her phone from a small white table near her. She quickly navigated to the favourite contacts tab and paused to look at the image of the only number there. A lean woman was leaning on a spear, smiling at a colourful blur at the forefront of the picture. Nami smiled and called the number.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

“Hi, I am Nidalee. Not Neeko. Neeko is at the river.”

“Hey, not Neeko, what’s up?”

“NAMIII!!! Neeko is so happy to hear you!”

“Same. How are you?”

“Great! Neeko is doing great!” The Oovi-kat paused for a second and continued. “Neeko is protecting the forest alone today. Nidalee went to talk to the bad men. Neeko is worried.”

“Aw, don’t be. Nidalee is strong. A few humans can’t hurt her. But... Why is she talking to them? I thought you had finally scared them away last week.”

“We did! They say the forest is haunted now.”

“So why is Nida talking with them?”

“She heard them say they planned to cut the trees in Rengar’s territory.”

“Oh no.”

“Yes. And Nidalee said that she had to stop them from dying so she went to talk and Neeko is alone now.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

“She will. She said so.” Another pause. Living with Nidalee wasn’t exactly helpful for Neeko’s communication skills. “Neeko is curious. How are you?”

“Oh, pretty well. I now stay at the pool most of the time. I got my boss to let me open and close the building, so I have more opportunities to swim...Oh, I met Sona, the DJ that I told you about? She comes by the pool every other day.”

“Is she nice?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh...”

“She’s mute, so I-”

“Mute? What is that?”

“It means she can’t speak. Like... Like a tree.”

“Trees talk.”

“No, I mean with words.”

“Oh.”

“So I began learning sign language and-”

“Sign language?”

“Yeah. You make signs with your hands and every sign is a word or a letter.” Nami explained patiently. Even though Neeko was older than her, there were a lot of things she didn’t know. “That way, if she, or anyone else like her, need anything, I can easily understand them.”

“Like you learned to hear me!”

“Yeah, something like that. Your way is much more expressive though.”

Neeko stayed silent for a while.

“Did you find Void-missile-person that brought you to Neeko?”

“Oh, no. I’m still asking around but nobody seems to have even seen the Void in person here, let alone escaping from it.”

A rhythmic *thud* *thud* *thud* was coming from the speaker. Nami knew that the sound was from Neeko’s tail. Neeko used to move her tail like a cat when she was thinking deeply, a habit she had picked up from Nidalee.

“Hey, Tomato? What’s going on?”

Neeko took some time to answer.

“Neeko wants to come.”

“Come where? Here?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, I’d be happy to have you. But don’t you like the forest better? The city is packed with humans and rules, not to mention the lack of nature.”

“But Neeko misses youuu! Neeko wants our tribe to be back together!”

“Aww. I miss you guys too. Hmm, here’s an idea. Tell Nida to call me when she comes back. We’ll arrange a date for me to visit. And I’ll take you to the city after if you still want to come.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I’ll visit as soon as I can.”

Nami smiled at Neeko’s celebrations that followed. Then, an alarm began ringing from the living room, reminding her of her job.

“Neeko. Neeko! I got to go get ready for work. Tell Nida to call. I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yes, yes! Neeko will tell Nidalee!”

“Alright. Love ya, bye.”

“Neeko loves Nami too,” Neeko whispered, thinking the mermaid wouldn’t really hear her. Which was a mistake, since Nami’s hearing was even better than Nidalee’s.

“What was that?” Nami teased her immediately.

“Aaah! Nothing! Neeko didn’t say anything! Bye!”

Nami laughed gently as she heard Neeko frantically pressing buttons, trying to end the call. Nami ended the call herself and grabbed a towel to dry up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was checking on Neeko's voice lines to get a feel of how to write her and SHE IS SOOOOOO CUTE!!!
> 
> I was originally thinking of pairing Nami with Sona in the later chapters. But after hearing how Neeko says _["Hello, Vastaya! Do you know Nami? Is she... nice?"](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/leagueoflegends/images/1/1b/Neeko_114.ogg/revision/latest?cb=20181119203902)_ I just can't NOT ship Nami and Neeko.


	3. Let Loose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!  
> This isn't a festive-themed chapter, but I hope it'll still be an enjoyable read.

Sona hadn’t seen Nami for two weeks. She had asked her replacement, a flamboyant blonde man named Taric if he knew when she was coming back. He didn't know.

So, Sona was pleasantly surprised when she came in today and saw Nami next to the pool, talking with a young, blue-haired girl. She looked no more than ten, but her eyes, one purple and one green, were unnaturally old.

“You just missed him. Yesterday was his last day.” Nami was saying to the girl.

“Mm. He didn’t mention where his next job is?”

“No.” Nami saw Sona and signed hello smiling, then continued talking to the girl. “The boss actually wanted him to stay full time but he insisted on leaving.”

Sona returned the smile and moved past them, heading to the lockers at the back.

“Oh, too bad. Well, if he comes back, call me.”

“Um, sure. Are you related..?”

“In a way, yeah. He’s like, my... nephew..?”

“Did you mean your uncle? He is quite older than you.” Nami smiled gently.

“Oh, right. Yeeeah, sure. My uncle. Anyway, my name’s Zoe. If you see him, just say my name and I’ll come.”

Zoe smirked and a round portal opened below her feet. Galaxies and stars could be seen inside. Zoe’s green eye turned blue and her hair orange at the roots, transparent purple at the ends. Socked, Nami almost tripped as she backed away from the Aspect. Zoe laughed and fell through the portal that closed after her.

Nami placed a hand on her heart, trying to calm down, trying to understand what had just happened. She jumped into the pool and closed her eyes, letting the warm embrace of the water relax her.

* * *

Inside a changing room, Sona had finished wearing her swimsuit, when she heard a crush from the room next to her. Curious, she stood still and listened. She didn’t hear anything for a second, then feet slipping and a thud on the door.

“Ooof... Slippery. Neeko doesn’t like thaaAAAT!!”

Sona heard a door open and another thud. More curious than ever, she opened her door and looked outside.

A dark-skinned woman with black hair was face-first on the floor. She was wearing a white two-piece with a skirt at the bottom.

“Ow, ow...”

The stranger lifted her upper body and, in a desperate attempt to find stability, reached for the door of an open locker. Sona noticed that the woman was extremely fit, especially at her limbs. She was also heavier than most people her size would be, as it became evident by how fast the locker door broke and fell on her head. Sona laughed and moved closer to help. Still unaware of her presence, the transformed Neeko curled into a fetal position, holding her head.

“Nidalee too strong, floor too slippery... Neeko wants her tail baaaack,” she complained.

Sona kneeled beside her and gently touched her shoulder. The woman jerked back at the touch and crawled away on all fours, almost like a lizard, until she hit the wall.

“WHAAAA!!! Human! Neeko... No. I...” she took a big breath. “I’m Nidalee. Not Neeko. Nooooot Neeko. I’m human, yes. You are human too. We are both human. Hellooo human, hi!”

Sona had no idea how to react to that. They stood there for a few seconds, Sona kneeling to the floor, Neeko with her back on the wall.

Sona was the one that regained her composure first. She noticed two more things about the woman in front of her. One, her expression looked weird, like it wasn’t truly her own. Two, the woman was wearing wet, worn-out slippers that had probably lost their ability to have friction some years ago. Sona laughed silently again. She sat cross-legged and pointed at the woman. Then she took off her own slippers, stood up and pointed at the woman again.

Neeko understood immediately and took off her slippers. She stood up with ease.

“Ah! I thank youuuu-” she was cut off as she fell face-first again. This time she managed to use her hands to stop the fall.

“Tail... Neeko wants her tail...” she murmured.

Sona grabbed her by the arms and pulled her up. She smiled, trying to keep her cool. Which was getting quite difficult as they were now so close. The woman was extremely attractive up close. Bright green eyes that looked into her soul, big soft lips-

Her daydream was interrupted quickly as the woman’s weight sifted all on her. She barely managed to remain on her feet.

“Sorry, sorry! I’m sorry!”

Sona smiled again and shook her head, trying to tell her not to worry. It wasn’t too often that people understood exactly what she meant when she was only using her expressions, but Neeko understood immediately.

“Thank you! Um, you know Nami? Nami is my friend! Shes can help.”

Sona nodded and pointed towards the pool with her head.

Neeko’s expression turned from worry to a childlike glee in a second.

“Yes, yes! Thank you, kind human!”

* * *

Nami had drifted to the centre of the pool with her eyes closed. She was repeating her interaction with Zoe in her head, trying to come in terms with the fact that she just had a conversation with such a powerful being.

“Oh! Nami is in the water. Shhhhh...” she heard Neeko whispering.

Nami heard Neeko running closer, losing her footing and then jumping. She opened her eyes. Neeko, in Nidalee’s form, was on the air falling towards her. Laughing, Nami commanded the water to push her to the left seconds before Neeko crushed, belly first, where she was laying a second ago.

Neeko moved underwater like a frog. She circled Nami from below, then jumped her from behind, trying to push her below the surface. Nami let her pull her down, then grabbed Neeko’s hands and started spinning their bodies. Still spinning, she turned and looked at Neeko, winked and pushed her away. She created an upwards water current that picked up Neeko above the pool, then placed her gently on the side.

Remaining underwater, Nami did a circle around herself, then swam around the perimeter of the pool at speeds only a mermaid could reach. After a few laps, a small whirlpool began forming at the centre of the pool. When she noticed it, she went even lower, her chest almost touching the floor, then jumped from the centre of the whirlpool several meters in the air. As she reached the top of her leap, she saw Neeko sitting at the edge of the pool, clapping with excitement.

Nami laughed.

She let her upper body fall first. She did a 180 spin around herself and fell back into the water. She swam backwards and flew out of the water near Neeko, a stream of water following her. Forgetting she had legs, she let her lower body absorb the impact of the landing. She stayed there laying down, looking at the vast night sky, wishing that one day she would swim in an ocean again.

When she got up, she finally noticed Sona looking at her from the other side of the pool, mouth wide open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Sona is what Tumblr would call a useless lesbian.  
> 2\. According to Wikipedia, what Neeko is wearing is called a skirtini and that's the most ridiculous name I've ever heard.  
> 3\. If it wasn't clear, Neeko hasn't turned into a human for years and the lack of tail was messing with her balance.  
> 4\. Nami is cool.


End file.
